Arkansas State University coach to take leave of absence

FILE — Wendy Anderson (right) is shown in this file photo with her husband Arkansas State football coach Blake Anderson.
FILE — Wendy Anderson (right) is shown in this file photo with her husband Arkansas State football coach Blake Anderson.

Arkansas State University head football coach Blake Anderson is taking a leave of absence from the team, the school announced early Monday evening.

Anderson is leaving the team to be with his wife, Wendy, who’s been battling cancer since April 2017. Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach David Duggan will be the Red Wolves’ interim head coach.

“We will continue to pray for peace for [Anderson's] family and provide assistance any way we can,” ASU athletic director Terry Mohajir said in a statement released by the school. “I will continue to be in communication with Coach Anderson both on a personal and professional level, but we will obviously respect and honor any amount of time he needs before he feels he can return."

Duggan was officially appointed by Anderson as the team’s assistant head coach on Aug. 1 during ASU’s formal media day. Anderson, who’s in his sixth year at Arkansas State, made that decision as a precaution in case he needed to leave a team function to be with his wife. He had expressed last month at Sun Belt Media Day in New Orleans that the situation with his wife had progressed.

“I’ve kind of always wanted to make sure that we were super prepared. Pray for the best but prepare for the worst,” Anderson said on Aug. 1. “Dave is more than capable to step in at any point that he needed to, if I were pulled away [from] a meeting, a day, a press conference or a few days at a time. They’re very real possibilities at some point through the next four months, and we just want to be prepared.”

Anderson missed two practices during fall camp, according to a team spokesman, most recently on Friday when he was with his wife. Anderson, though, was back with the team on Saturday for the team’s second scrimmage of fall camp.

The Red Wolves open the season on Aug. 31 against SMU in Jonesboro.

“I have 100-percent confidence in Coach Duggan, our football coaching staff and student leadership on this team to move us forward with our academics and competition,” Mohajir said. “I know there has been an outpouring of support for Coach Anderson, Wendy and their family, not only locally, but nationally. Coach Anderson has expressed how grateful his family is for all the thoughts and prayers, and we are also thankful for everyone’s support.”

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